Learn Directly from Wall Street Professionals

Darien K. Smith, Esq. is the Founder, President, and CEO of D.K. Smith & Co., a private investment firm that exists to grow companies and strengthen communities. They provide tailored solutions for management teams, business owners, entrepreneurs, private equity firms, SBIC funds, and family offices. We invest in the future through technology enablement and operational value creation, empowering our partners to achieve lasting success.

Darien is a first-generation attorney from the South Side of Chicago. He started his collegiate career playing college football for Eastern Illinois University and finished his undergrad degree in finance and mathematics at the University of Miami (FL). Subsequently, Darien received his J.D. from New York University School of Law. While in law school Darien moved to China and bootstrapped a fashion startup after working in finance for Goldman Sachs his 1L summer. Upon graduation, he became a licensed corporate attorney in New York City at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in their private funds group. 

After practicing law at Stroock, Darien transitioned to Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as a Management Consultant in their Corporate Finance and Strategy Practice Area where he advised multi-billion-dollar conglomerates and private equity firms, building and executing organic and inorganic growth strategies. Darien left BCG in 2019 to launch D.K. Smith & Co. where he focuses on acquiring, operating, and advising lower middle market businesses.

Darien has a passion for teaching and coaching entrepreneurs and investing in private markets. He leverages his expertise in growth strategy, risk management, and operating to roll-up his sleeves alongside entrepreneurs and management teams to accelerate growth. Growth creates jobs. Jobs feed families. Families build communities. Let's build together

James Marciano is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Tuck Advisors, a boutique M&A advisory firm built by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. Under his leadership, Tuck Advisors serves founders looking to sell their companies, buyers pursuing strategic acquisitions, and senior executives seeking long-term growth opportunities.

Drawing on more than three decades of entrepreneurial and investment experience, James blends hands-on deal execution with deep sector insight. He has overseen full-funnel sell-side processes, structured complex buy-side transactions and guided strategic advisory engagements preparatory for transaction readiness.

A lifelong learner, James earned his A.B. in Social Psychology from Harvard College and his MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. 

James takes pride in a founder-first ethos. Having built and exited technology companies himself, he understands the sacrifices and ambitions of entrepreneurship. He built a firm that offers both data-driven rigor (powered by proprietary tools and custom analytics) and personal mentorship through every step of the transaction cycle.

James remains active in the broader deal-making community, frequently speaking at business schools and industry forums. He is passionate about helping founder-led businesses maximize value and transition into the next phase of growth or ownership.

Zachary Levenick is the Co-founder & Managing Partner at THG Securities Advisors, an investment partnership that purchases public securities of all types such as common stocks, bonds, convertible securities, preferred shares and derivatives, focusing on North America, Canada and Western Europe.

Prior to joining THG, Mr. Levenick was a Principal of Taconic Capital Partners, LP a multi-billion dollar New York-based private investment firm. Mr. Levenick co-managed the firm’s London-based European operations and was Portfolio Manager for European Equities investing, where focus areas included consumer products, retail, and general industries. He also established and oversaw Taconic’s public and private investment efforts in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina, where focus areas included education and logistics. While at Taconic, Mr. Levenick also developed extensive experience in special situations and cross-asset class investing. Mr. Levenick spent 18 years at Taconic, after joining the firm in 2002 as a research associate. Prior to his career at Taconic, Mr. Levenick worked at J.P. Morgan in Investment Banking.

Mr. Levenick is a former Director of Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE: BNED) and graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude with a degree in History and Literature (Medieval).  He resides with his family in Southern California.  They support a number of educational, outdoor, and local philanthropies in the US and UK.

In this exclusive WSO Academy Speaker Series session, Mr. Levenick will draw on two decades of global investing experience to share perspectives on navigating public markets, lessons from managing cross-border strategies, the nuances of special situations investing, and what he looks for when evaluating opportunities—and talent—in today’s dynamic environment.

Michael Harris brings a rare blend of public and private sector leadership across the capital markets landscape. As Vice Chairman and Global Head of Capital Markets for NYSE Group, he oversees global customer acquisition and leads efforts to bring top-tier companies to the world’s largest and most liquid exchange. His role spans the full private company ecosystem—from founders and CEOs to venture capital, private equity, market makers, and advisors.

Before joining the NYSE, Harris served as Head of Capital Markets at Citadel Securities and as Deputy Chief Investment Officer at the U.S. Treasury Department, where he played a pivotal role in the successful wind-down of the government’s TARP investments. Earlier in his career, he held senior positions in investment banking and capital markets at JPMorgan and UBS.

In this exclusive WSO Academy Speaker Series session, Harris will share insights from a career at the center of global markets—covering IPO trends, the evolving role of exchanges, lessons from navigating government and Wall Street, and what top firms look for when hiring the next generation of talent.

Scott’s journey is as impressive as it is unlikely: a scholarship kid from rural Michigan who hustled his way through Penn Law, pivoted into M&A at Morgan Stanley during the dealmaking boom of the ‘80s, and went on to lead Greenhill through IPOs, crises, global expansion, and eventually its acquisition in 2024. Few people have spent 40 years inside the room where it happens—and come out with their reputation (and stories) intact.

In this session, Scott will share how he navigated four decades of rapid change on Wall Street, what it takes to build staying power in a brutal industry, how to think about risk, opportunity, and career pivots, and what he looks for when hiring the next generation of leaders.